Dissolving the Stars
by Michelle H. C. Zhu
Summary: Misawa hadn't been blessed with the heartfelt sympathy to help others overcome their grief. But even knowing that failure is certain, he tried to help Manjyome in his own way.


Jun Manjyome sat down on a rock, placing his elbows on his knees and looking down at the dirt. There was nothing to look at; it was all darkness to him. The moon's glimmer was far too weak to illuminate the night surroundings and he really didn't know, nor did he care where he currently was. It was quiet and peaceful, and far away from any prying eyes. That's all that mattered.

How did he manage to end up here?

Manjyome couldn't go back to the Obelisk dorm—he no longer belonged there. And he couldn't go back to the Osiris dorm either because it was far beneath him to have to end up in such a disgusting place, along with the very people he had spat on in the beginning of the term. He felt worthless, weak, pathetic, and perhaps a bit ashamed…

He had been so arrogant in the beginning of the school year, bossing random people around insulting those in red and yellow jackets. Manjyome had been at the top of the chain, the guy with the wealth and good looks and who with a single snap of his fingers would have three to four students come out of nowhere and cater his every wish.

But that all changed when Juudai had entered the academia. Manjyome had lost once…no twice…_more _than just twice…

And just like that, his entire world came crashing down. After his continuous losing streak, his fans and servants vanished, his brothers stopped looking fondly down at him, Cronos had all in all abandoned him—everything was gone. Everything.

And now, where was he? Down in the dirt. A loser.

"Who's there?" Manjyome suddenly called out to the frigid air as he heard the soft crinkling of leaves behind him. There was a pause of silence before somebody spoke.

"Hello, Manjyome. Fancy meeting you here."

Manjyome stiffened at the sound of the voice. He quickly sat up and turned around to see a rather familiar face staring faintly down at him. Even in the lack of light, he could make out who it was—Daichi Misawa. That Ra Yellow who had beaten him in a duel and forced him to leave the academia directly afterwards because his dignity and reputation had been completely torn apart.

He snorted derisively, glancing away. "Yeah, whatever, just start walking. Go where you were planning to go and leave me alone."

A few seconds passed, and Manjyome still felt the other boy's presence linger behind him.

Manjyome shot an irritated glare behind his back. "Why haven't you left?" he snapped.

"…are you alright?" Misawa asked rather unexpectedly, his eyes flashing with concern.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he hissed between his teeth. "Of course I'm ok! Do I look sick to you or something?"

Misawa didn't respond but merely continued staring at him. Manjyome swallowed heavily, trying to regain what was left of his composure and stopping his voice from cracking.

"What do you want? You're creeping me out already!"

Misawa finally closed his eyes and sighed, looking away. "Nothing."

"If it's nothing, then don't do that again…"

He grunted indignantly as Misawa sat down next to him on the rock. Apparently Manjyome wasn't going to get the peace and quiet he had wanted.

"I need some fresh air, so I suppose I'll sit with you for a while," Misawa explained lightly.

Manjyome shifted his weight into a more comfortable position, only to accidentally have his hand brushing over Misawa's. He growled darkly under his breath.

There was silence between the two boys for the next couple of minutes, the only sound disrupting the entire quiet atmosphere was the chirping of the crickets. Manjyome found that awkward because most crickets usually died out at this time of year. He ran his hand through his hair, unintentionally making it even spikier than before.

"Have you ever heard of the Big Dipper?"

He pulled his hand out of his spikes and glanced at the gray-eyed boy, surprised at his remark. But Misawa's gaze wasn't on him; it was on the stars hanging above them.

"I read a picture book when I was younger. The story said that the bowl of the Big Dipper is a giant bear and the stars of the handle are the three warriors chasing it," he continued, making a box with his fingers and looking through it.

Manjyome wondered why he was telling him this in the first place. He couldn't see what Misawa was babbling about anyway. None of the star clusters even vaguely resembled a bear at all.

"When the constellation is low in the sky on autumn nights like this people say that the hunters have injured the bear and its blood caused the trees to change color to red. But of course, that's what the early Native Americans believed. Current astronomy theories have other thoughts."

Misawa paused for a moment before looking to his left. "And there's the phoenix."

He pointed to a group of bright stars hanging so low to the ground that tips of trees and a few gauchely-grown branches touched it.

"The mythical phoenix survived on aromatic herbs like cinnamon and myrrh. When it has lived for 500 years, it builds a nest of these materials on top of the highest palm tree. The bird then sets his own nest afire and dies among the vapors, but from its ashes a young new phoenix is born and comes forth to live another 500 years."

Manjyome was suddenly haunted with a brief vision of his second duel with Juudai. _Like a phoenix from the ashes…_

"Would you like to know something interesting? In Egyptian myths, the phoenix is revered as an embodiment of Ra, the Sun god. The phoenix is often a symbol of resurrection."

Misawa closed his eyes and smiled to himself. "I suppose that's why I know so much about it," he said quietly, looking fondly down at his yellow blazer.

Before Manjyome could reply, he cast his gaze up in the night sky again. "Over there." He traced his finger over a line of stars and then two other lines to form a small triangle.

"That's Orion. Ancient Egyptians thought the stars in the belt represented the resting place of the soul of the god Osiris. Your dorm."

"By default," Manjyome piped for the first time, hostility lining his voice.

Misawa continued smiling. "…but Obelisk isn't among the stars," he said somewhat smugly, as if sensing Thunder's bitterness about his placement in the dorms. He turned to face the other boy. "Apparently its importance to the Egyptians was insignificant."

Manjyome flinched and glared at him for a moment. "Is that suppose to make me feel better?" he asked coldly. He suddenly stood up, gripping his fist to his heart. "You think just because some losers didn't see Obelisk in the stars doesn't mean Obelisk Blue is lower than the other two dorms."

"Of course not—"

"You shouldn't be insulting them especially when you couldn't even get in."

"I never said—"

"Is this entire lecture an attempt to prove you're superior or something?"

"That is quite enough," Misawa spoke up sharply, his smile long since gone. "You're acting like a spoiled brat."

That struck a nerve. Manjyome slammed his fist into Misawa's face with such rage that he flew off the rock and ended up lying face-down in the dirt. Manjyome stood there for a few moments, stunned by what he had just done. Then he turned a heel and began walking away from the fallen Misawa.

"I'm sorry…I'm not good with emotions."

Manjyome stopped walking. Why was he apologizing?

Behind him, Misawa rose from the ground, rubbing his face softly. "I base everything on scientific data and fact."

When Manjyome didn't reply, Misawa looked up and stared at the back of his black trench-coat. Slowly, the Ra stood up, silently making his way over to the other boy who hadn't moved an inch.

"I wish I could just ask you what's wrong and you'd tell me…but humans are not as straightforward as that. I can't just read a person's feelings like an open math textbook."

Manjyome suddenly felt strong arms wrap around his body. He immediately stiffened and tried to pull away but Misawa continued to hold him, refusing to let him go.

"I'm not going to pry you for details…" he murmured softly into Manjyome's ear. "…and I don't want to know anything. But I know you're hurting inside, so all I ask is that you let me give you my shoulder to cry on."

Upon hearing those words, Manjyome felt all strength drain from his limbs. His body grew limp and he looked down, shutting his eyes tightly. "I-I'm not freaking crying!"

_Is that so? Then why are my sleeves wet?_

"Can't you…can't you just leave me alone?"

His embrace tightened.

"No."


End file.
